Tuesday, Dec. 6
By Jonathan Larsen
Biden Backs Manchin Tactic; Progressives Rebel
By Candice Cole
Progressive members of Congress and environmental justice activists are rebuffing Democratic leadership after reports surfaced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Maj. Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are working to aid Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in his attempt to attach his bill fast-tracking energy permitting (including fossil fuels) to a “must-pass” annual defense spending bill.
The White House confirmed in a briefing Monday that Pres. Joe Biden is pushing for the Manchin bill to be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In response, a handful of progressive lawmakers have come out against the move on Twitter. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have both expressed strong opposition to attaching Manchin’s bill to the NDAA. And Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Ro Khanna (D-CA) have all said they’d vote against the bill if it includes permitting language -- which stands to severely limit community input on potentially harmful energy projects.
In a statement from Climate Justice Alliance -- a collective of environmental justice (EJ) activist groups -- Juan Jhong-Chung, climate justice director for the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, said, “any attempt to dress this dirty deal up as green, clean, or beneficial to environmental justice communities is disingenuous and just another perversion of hallmark legislation that must be enhanced, not gutted.”
Proponents of Manchin’s bill say permitting reform on energy projects is necessary to combat climate change. But EJ activists and progressives say permitting reform can happen without disproportionately impacting Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. They also want to see permit fast-tracking benefit renewables like wind and solar rather than fossil fuels.
As I reported last week, there is a push by Khanna to counter Manchin’s side-deal with Schumer, by attaching a $15 minimum wage to the same defense bill. Khanna’s idea has gotten support from other progressives. And Grijalva re-sent a previous letter with 76 co-signatures urging House leadership against attaching the Manchin bill to any must-pass legislation.
In the upper chamber, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told me that Manchin’s bill is an “environmental disaster” and that he’d do everything he can to keep it from passing.
Details of what’s included in the NDAA are expected to be released this week.
How Today’s Vote in Georgia Will Resonate for Years
In yesterday’s preview of today’s final voting in the Georgia Senate race, I linked to a Ross Barkan essay in the NY Times, but today I want to share some of his details.
If Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) defeats Herschel Walker, Democrats will have a 51-49 majority in the Senate. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will each need the other to obstruct the Democratic majority (or else Vice President Kamala Harris can break 50-50 impasses with her tie-breaking vote). They’re not always in lockstep, which means now neither of them will alone be able to block the agenda of Pres. Joe Biden.
But maybe more importantly, this will change how bills and nominees emerge (or don’t) from committees. When the parties are at 50-50, they have equal representation on committees. Which means Republicans can drag out committee processes.
But not if Warnock wins. In that scenario, the Judiciary Committee can move without impediment to fill bench vacancies. There are currently 88 open judgeships, with only 54 nominees pending. A Warnock win means Judiciary can catch up on the others and respond quickly to new vacancies. Including, potentially, any on the Supreme Court.
In an email distributed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Senate Maj. Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote that, “Especially with a Republican House, this will allow us to set the national agenda on things like minimum wage, child care, the child tax credit, challenging big monopolies, creating more jobs, taking on Big Oil to tackle climate change, ensuring legal contraception, protecting democracy, and so much more."
How Money and Politics Birthed the Respect For Marriage Act
A new ABC News piece shares some details of how Democrats and Republicans came to pass the Respect For Marriage Act, requiring even states that won’t certify same-sex or interracial marriages to recognize such marriages performed in other states. The otherwise good piece continues the mainstream media trend of not explaining that “religious freedom” means the right to discriminate, but offers some useful insights into how it passed.
For one thing, rich Republicans worried about 2024 wanted the issue gone:
“According to those involved, much of the compromise unfolded behind closed doors, including private phone calls by wealthy GOP donors who wanted Congress to resolve the issue.
“Of particular concern, some Republicans said, was that any moves by the Supreme Court could alienate independent and moderate voters ahead of the 2024 election -- much as the debate on abortion rights hurt Republicans in the midterms.”
Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and unnamed GOP leaders then opted not to fight the bill, even though they personally opposed it and voted against it. The amended version is now expected to pass the House.
As we’ve reported, it remains unclear whether Democrats understand the full scope of anti-LGBTQ and other discrimination that’s undergirded by elements of the legislation they just passed, but Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told TYT Washington Correspondent Candice Cole that Democrats will deal with that, too. What Democrats haven’t done is what Jim Obergefell told me he wanted: A real debate about the distinction between true “religious freedom” and legalized discrimination.
Democracy on the Docket
The right-wing Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a case that could dramatically affect this nation’s elections going forward. In a bad way.
The North Carolina Republican Party brought their suit to challenge judicial authority to tell state legislatures how to run elections. This latest right-wing “legal [sic] theory [sic]” is known as the independent state legislature doctrine, and it’s based on the philosophical concept of But Trump Won.
The Associated Press in June, when the court agreed to hear the case, laid out what state legislatures could do unhindered by judicial oversight:
- Provide different voting hours for rural vs. urban precincts (we all see what that one’s about, right?)
- Prevent governors from vetoing bills related to voting
- Cocaine Gerrymander
According to the AP, a Brennan Center for Justice analysis identified more than 170 state constitution provisions, 650 state laws, and thousands of state and local regulations that would be voided instantly if the Supreme Court goes all in with this theory.
FWIW this one’s a tough call in one way; all you have to do is imagine a far future in which small-d democrats control most state legislatures while elderly judges who were appointed by Donald Trump as soon as they hit puberty are overturning every law that doesn’t start with Whereas Trump won in 2020…
Ukraine Takes the War to Putin
For the second day in a row, Ukrainian drones struck Russian military targets inside Russia. There were no reported casualties in today's attack, but three Russian military members were said to have been killed in one of the previous two strikes.
The targets included air bases Russia is using in its war on Ukraine. One of the airbases is home to the massive Soviet bombers that have been pummeling Ukraine.
One target is just a few hours from Moscow and one reportedly was struck with the aid of Ukrainian special forces on the ground.
President Putin, there's a call for you, and the call is coming from inside the house.
Pressure Mounts for Railroad Sick Leave
First the Intercept reported that unions will push Pres. Joe Biden to include rail workers in an executive order forcing all federal contractors (including virtually every large rail carrier) to give workers paid sick leave. Now activist investors are joining in.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility – with 300 members who own more than $4 trillion worth of stock in god knows how many companies – is pushing for shareholder votes at two rail carriers to force into place paid sick leave for their workers. The companies are Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The group says it plans to seek votes at CSX and at Berkshire Hathaway, too.
Biden has said he wants to ensure every worker in every industry has paid sick leave. Rail carriers present unique issues, however, due to the safety issues involved with trains and to the safety issues involved with sending sick workers around the country on trains. Biden has yet to say, however, whether he’ll include rail workers in that expected executive order.
Conservative House Dems to Pick Leader
Fifty-three House Democrats will vote today for a new position within House Democratic leadership: “Battleground Leadership Representative.” The position is ostensibly about elevating the concerns and influence of Democrats who only narrowly won their seats, but it’s really about using the fact that conservative Democrats have a tough time winning by healthy margins and so they’re trying to boost their influence by saying their districts require extra accommodations. In other words, they’re seeking for themselves the same kind of “special” treatment that they would deny disenfranchised groups.
The two contenders for the role are Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). She won the hearts of conservative Democrats by blaming the left and “defund the police” for the party’s electoral showing in 2020. When they, uh, won.
One of the members endorsing her is Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the House’s answer to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). The Huffington Post has more details and analytical perspective on what’s going on here if you want to check it out.
Trump Owed $19.8 Million to South Korean Company
Forbes reports that Donald Trump failed to disclose during his 2016 presidential campaign that his company owed $19.8 million to Daewoo, a South Korean company. There are some scenarios in which that might not be a crime, but it’s not clear yet whether this is one of those scenarios.
Anyway, the fun part is that Daewoo actually has historic ties to North Korea. According to documents Forbes says were obtained by the New York attorney general, Trump did bupkis to pay down the debt between 2011 and 2016. Just a U.S. presidential candidate unable to pay back a foreign creditor. Nothing to see here.
But then, in 2017, just five months into his presidency, the debt dropped by $15.5 million. By July 5, 2017, the debt was wiped out entirely. According to the documents, Daewoo was “bought out” of the debt – but the paperwork doesn’t say who paid them off. (h/t)
Arizona Finally Certifies 2022 Election Results
After delays caused by rebel county officials who had zero factual basis for claims of election fraud, Arizona state officials Monday finally certified last month’s election results, in which Democrats pretty much swept the board. Swept the table? I’m pretty sure this is a sports analogy, so you’re gonna have to give me a pass.
The results were certified yesterday by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose own victory was part of those results. Hobbs was joined in the certification by the governor she’s replacing, term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ), and state Atty. Gen. Mark Brnovich, also a Republican.
With that certification, Donald Trump acolyte Kari Lake, who lost to Hobbs but doesn't know it, now has a five-day window to file a formal legal challenge, which she is expected to both do and to lose and to not learn from.
HUGE Correction
Shit, did I screw up yesterday. I mentioned that Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) died on Saturday and said that meant the Republicans had just lost one of their four-member majority margin over Democrats. Nope!
As a loyal ProgRep reader emailed me to alert me, Kolbe was a former member of Congress. I could easily blame the Associated Press for its headline calling him a “GOP Rep” and its lede calling him “a Republican congressman” while not mentioning that whole “former” thing until the seventh paragraph, so I will. It's my newsletter, I can be petty. But it’s also my screwup for not catching that. So I apologize for letting you down.
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